Foldable reclining chair



April 1, 1952 G. K. ODEN FOL-DABLE RECLINING CHAIR Filed Feb. 26, 1948Patented Apr. 1, 1952 FOLDABLE RECLINING CHAIR Giista K. Odn, Nybro,Sweden Application February 26, 1948, Serial No. 11,002 In NorwaySeptember 16, 1947 2 Claims.

This invention relates to folding chairs, and more particularly to thosein which the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of canvas orother suitable material supported only at its ends.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide such a foldingchair which, if desired, can be straightened out horizontally so thatthe occupant can lie out fiat on it, and which can be folded into a flatbundle when not in use.

The preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view of the chair; Fig.2 is a side view showing the chair straightened out so that a person canlie down on it; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the chair as seen in Fig.1.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a pair of steeply inclinedparallel back bars I are spaced apart near their upper ends by a crossrod 2. The central portions of these bars are connected by pivots 3 tothe rear ends of a pair of substantially horizontal armrests 4.Connected by pivots 5 to the front ends of the armrests are the upperends of a pair of front bars 6 that are spaced apart by a cross rod 1 ashort distance below their upper ends. These bars are held parallel tothe back bars by a pair of base bars 8 which are connected by pivots 9and ID to the lower ends of the back and front bars, respectively. Thebase bars extend ahead of the front bars and have their front endsconnected by a board serving as a footrest II. The armrests and the barsat each side of the chair thus form a parallel linkage system which canbe collapsed by moving pivot l toward pivot 3, or by moving pivot 9toward pivot 5.

The chair is supported by two pairs of crossed legs, one pair beinglocated beneath each armrest. The legs [2 and I3 of each pair areconnected by a pivot 14, and the upper ends of legs l2 are connected tothe pivots 3 that fasten the armrests to the back bars I. In order topermit each pair of legs to be folded together when desired, the upperends of legs [3 are connected by pivots I to the front ends of a pair ofhorizontal links I6, each one of which is disposed in a recess in thebottom of an armrest. The rear ends of these links are connected bypivots I! to the central portions of the armrests. Upward movement ofthe front ends of the links is limited by the overlying portions of thearmrests. The central portions of legs 13 are connected by a cross rod[8 that limits the distance that the lower ends of back bars I can beswung rearward.

The seat and its back for this chair are formed by a sheet IQ of canvasor other suitable flexible material having the required strength. Theupper end of the canvas is secured to cross rod 2, while its lower endis fastened ,to cross rod 1. Between these rods the canvas is slack, asis customary in chairs of this character.

This chair can be used as an ordinary chair as shown in Fig. 1, or, bypressing on the footrest and leaning back simultaneously, the back barsI can be caused to rock back on pivots 3 to swing their upper endsdownward and their lower ends upward. Due to the parallel linkage systemthe rising lower ends of the back bars will swing front bars 6 and basebars 8 upward to the position shown in Fig. 2 where pivot 9 is close topivot 5. Also, this straightening of the bars simultaneously moves crossrods 2 and I farther apart to stretch the flexible sheet l9 into agenerally horizontal position. The chair then serves as a couch on whichthe occupant can lie practically flat on his back.

When it is desired to collapse the chair for storage or transportationto another location, the footrest II can be swung upward and backwardtoward the back bars with pivot I0 close to pivot 3. This will causebase bars 8, front bars 6, and the armrests to extend lengthwise alongthe back bars. The lower front ends of legs [2 then can be swungbackward to a position substantially in line with the armrests; thismovement being permitted by links l6 which will swing first away fromthe armrests and then back toward their rear portions as the crossedlegs fold together on their central pivots It to extend in the samegeneral direction as the collapsed bars and armrests. In this manner thechair is folded into a compact flat bundle.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I ,nowconsider to represent its best embodiment.

However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of theappended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than asspecifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A folding reclining chair comprising a pair of substantiallyhorizontal armrests, a pair of back bars pivoted centrally to the rearends of the armrests, a pair of front bars parallel to the back bars andpivoted at their upper ends to the front ends of the armrests, a pair ofbase bars parallel to the armrests and pivotally connected to the lowerends of the back and frontbars, the base bars projecting forward fromthe front bars, a footrest connecting the projecting front ends of thebase bars, a sheet of flexible material suspended from between the upperends of the back bars and having its lower end connected between theupper portions of the front bars to form a combined seat and backrest, apair of crossed legs below each armrest for supporting it, the lowerends of the back bars being adapted to be swung upward toward thearmrests to raise the footrest and lower the upper ends of the back barsto thereby stretch said flexible material substantially horizontally toform a reclining support, each pair of legs being pivoted together andhaving the upper end of one of them pivoted to the rear end of theadjoining armrest, and a substantially horizontal link pivotallyconnected at its rear end to the central portion of each armrest andpivotally connected at its front end to the upper end of the other legbeneath that armrest, said links being adapted to be swung down and thenup beneath the rear portions of the armrests to fold the legs togethersubstantially in line with the armrests when the base bars are folded upagainst the back bars whereby the chair can be folded into a flatbundle.

2. A folding and reclining chair comprising a pair of armrests, a pairof back bars, a pair of front bars pivoted at their upper ends to thearmrests, a pair of base bars pivotally connected to the lower ends ofthe front and back bars and having portions extending beyond the pivotalconnections of said base bars to said front bars,

means connecting the front ends of the base bars, a cross bar connectingthe upper ends of the back bars, a second cross bar connecting theintermediate portions of the front bars together, a sheet of flexiblematerial having its ends connected to said cross bars, two pairs ofcrossed legs arranged one pair at each side of the chair, pivot meansREFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 268,941 Sands Dec. 12, 1882822,944 Halladay June 12, 1906 2,185,923 Paul Jan. 2, 1940 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 661,998 France Aug. 1, 1929

